Ask the Commish - July 26, 2013

Compiled by Allan Scotto

Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you (normally) get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Gerry is away this week, so Randy Gordon, co-host of the show and the former Commissioner of the New York State Athletic Commission will be handling your questions for this week (hence the temporary title change!).

(Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” a show Gerry co-hosts with Randy “The Commish” Gordon, former Chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission.)

This past weekend, John Molina showed us and Mickey Bey why boxing is unlike any other sport in the world by being hopelessly behind on the cards and then hitting the ninth inning homerun. It reminded me of some of the great boxing comebacks where fighters snatched victory from the jaws of defeat such as Mike Weaver vs. John Tate, George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer and Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor. Commish, what is your all time favorite boxing comeback? And by the way, I love the show!

Our next question comes from Chris S., who asks:

Why do you think it is that boxing has not ever been able to put a National Boxing Commission together with one set of rules and regulations that are the same, countrywide?

Gerry answered the following questions on last week’s show.

Our first question came from Fred T., who asked:

Gerry, for a while it looked like female boxing was picking up speed. Now it seems like it’s lost its momentum. Is that because of a lack of opponents?

Gerry thinks that, yes, a lack of opponents has hurt that aspect of the sport.

Our next question comes from Donny S., who asks:

Gerry, it looks like Manny Pacquiao will return to the ring to face Brandon Rios. After a vicious knockout like Manny suffered to Juan Manuel Marquez, is it easy to go back in the ring and fight like you used to or does that play with a fighter’s head?

Gerry feels a knockout like Pacquiao suffered can, in some cases, make a fighter “gun shy.”